EP0800092A2 - Apparatus and method for guiding a vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The device for guiding a vehicle to a destination has a radio transmitter and receiver and a satellite based position determining system in the vehicle. An arrangement is provided for inputting the vehicle destination. The destination together with the location determined by the position determining system can be transmitted via the transmitter and receiver device. On the basis of the transmitted information a proposed route to be stored in the device can be received. The proposed route contains the coordinates of base points lying on the route as well as base point instructions which contain additional information on a base point. The output os the base point instruction is controlled by the satellite position determination system. When a base point is reached a base point instruction which has not previously been output is output.

Description

State of the art

The invention is based on a device and a method for guiding a vehicle according to the type of the independent claims.

From the magazine Funkschau 5/96, pages 74 ff, a device for route guidance of a vehicle and a method therefor are already known. This device includes several devices for determining the location, a data memory, an input / output unit and a central processor unit, all of which are located on board a vehicle. The location is determined on the one hand by GPS, a positioning system that is based on satellites. Compass and wheel rotation sensors are also available for relative position determination. A destination can be entered via the input / output unit via menu control. In the storage unit, a CD-Rom, electronic street and city maps are available, from which the central processor unit calculates a suggested route for the best connection between the current location and destination. During the arrival to the destination, the central processing unit calculates a new route as soon as a deviation from the suggested route is recognized.

Furthermore, a system is known from Bosch Technical Reports, Volume 8, page 28 of 1986, in which an area is covered by a network of infrared transmitters, so-called beacons. Each beacon continuously sends out information about the way in which certain destinations, in particular beacons in the area, can be reached. This information is picked up by passing vehicles by means of an infrared receiver on board. A terminal device also on board the vehicle reconstructs the route in the vicinity of the desired destination from the same data stream for all vehicles.

Advantages of the invention

The device according to the invention with the features of claim 1 has the advantage that it has significantly fewer components and thus also a lower purchase price.

The inventive method with the features of claim 5 has the advantage that an expensive, newly created infrastructure is not required, and it is therefore associated with lower financial expenditure.

The measures listed in the dependent claims allow advantageous developments and improvements of the device specified in the independent claim. It is particularly advantageous to implement the satellite-based position determination system by means of GPS, and to design the wireless communication system as a GSM device, since both standards are widely used internationally and can therefore also be used on trips abroad.

Furthermore, it is particularly advantageous, when reaching a base, as soon as this is confirmed by GPS, to acoustically notify the base and the next base to be approached, since this allows the driver to devote his attention largely to road traffic.

Furthermore, it is particularly advantageous to save the complete list of all the support points required for the route in the device, since it can thus be called up manually and the route covered so far can be reconstructed.

Furthermore, it is particularly advantageous to record and store the data on traffic movements via a central computer, since destination finding functions and traffic management functions can thus be combined.

drawing

• Figur 1 den Aufbau einer erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung,
• Figur 2 ein Ablaufdiagram, das die Arbeitsweise der Vorrichtung erläutert,
• Figur 3 einen Routenvorschlag in Form einer Stützpunktliste.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing and explained in the following description. Show it

• FIG. 1 shows the structure of a device according to the invention,
• FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram which explains the mode of operation of the device,
• Figure 3 shows a route proposal in the form of a base list.

Description of the embodiment

FIG. 1 shows a device 110 as it is installed on board a vehicle to be brought to the destination. This Device 110 is also called a terminal in the text below, regardless of its implementation in a single housing or in separate modules. The terminal device 110 contains a memory 112, a central processor unit 120, an input / output unit 114, a wireless GSM radio transmission and reception unit 113, which is also referred to below as the GSM system, and a satellite-based GPS positioning system 111, which Receiving location signals from a satellite. Components 112, 120, 114, 113, and 111 are interconnected by a data bus. The input / output unit 114 contains a screen 116, a keyboard 117 and an acoustic output unit 115. Through the GSM system 113, the GSM radio base station 101 and the GSM network switching center 200, the terminal device 110 is connected to a stationary central computer 102. This is shown in FIG. 1 as a separate unit, but it is also possible for the GSM network switching center 200 and the stationary central computer 102 to be in the same device. A data line 103 is also connected to the central computer 102. In the example given here, this represents all communication channels except connections with terminals 110, via which the central computer 102 can receive information about the traffic situation. This includes in particular radio, police, manual input.

The operation of the terminal is shown in the flow chart in Figure 2. In program step 31, a user of the terminal inputs a destination via the input / output part of the terminal. This destination can either be entered in the form of coordinates (latitude, high altitude) or in the form of an address. In the present example, BERLIN is entered at point 31 of the program flow. In step 32, the current position is in via the GPS positioning system Coordinate shape determined. The current position in the present example is the geographical location of Stuttgart. The destination and the current position are then passed together to the GSM system 33 in program item 33. In the following step 34, the GSM system sends a message, which contains the current position and the destination, via the radio base station to the stationary central computer. The central computer has access to knowledge of the road network, preferably in the form of an electronic road map. For example, this can be stored using a peripheral device such as a CD-ROM or a magnetic tape drive. He also has knowledge of the current traffic situation via the data line. From this, he calculates a route proposal that the terminal receives in step 35 via the GSM system. In step 36, the terminal stores this route proposal in the memory.

The memory 112 with the stored route proposal 30 is shown in FIG. 3. The route proposal 30 contains several entries, which are also referred to as base information below. An intermediate destination to be approached is referred to as a base. In the present example, base information consists of the coordinates of a base in a form comparable to the data supplied by the GPS positioning system, as well as a base instruction, here in the form of voice information, which contains the address of the base as well as a brief instruction for further travel, and is synthesized in the central computer 102. In the present example, the route proposal 30 is shown in FIG. 3 with 4 base point information, each being identified by a pair of numbers. In the present example, 11 denotes the coordinates of Stuttgart, 12 the coordinates of Würzburg, 13 the Coordinates of Hanover and 14 the coordinates of Berlin, i.e. the destination. The base instruction 21 denotes the voice information YOU ARE IN STUTTGART. DRIVE TO WURZBURG, 22 WURZBURG. DRIVE DIRECTION HANNOVER, 23 HANNOVER. DIRECTION BERLIN, 24 BERLIN. GOAL ACHIEVED.

To describe the further route guidance, reference is again made to FIG. In step 37, the GPS determines the current position, which is compared in step 38 with the coordinates of the base points contained in the route proposal. If a match is found, a reference point instruction is output 39, otherwise the position determination denoted by step 37 is carried out again. After the output 39, a check 40 is carried out to determine whether the current coordinates match the target coordinates. If there is a match, the route guidance is ended, otherwise a new position determination 37 is initiated.

This mode of operation is concretized again with the aid of FIG. 3. If the road user has reached the point with the coordinates 11, this causes the output of the reference point instruction 21 belonging to the base point with the coordinates 11 to the vehicle driver. In the present example, this output consists of the reproduction of the speech information 21: YOU ARE IN STUTTGART. DRIVE TO WURZBURG. In the present example, the output is via the loudspeaker of the acoustic output unit 115. The coordinates of the first base are identical to the position at the time the route guidance was initiated, so the output of the first base usually takes place immediately after the route proposal 30 has been received. The output of the additional voice instructions containing base information 22, 23, 24 takes place as soon as the position determined by the GPS position determination system with the coordinates 12, 13, 14 is identical. The last base instruction 24 in the route proposal 30 contains the message that the road user is at the destination. Thanks to the positioning security that can be achieved with GPS, finding a destination is now unproblematic for road users.

Due to the possibility inherent in the GSM standard of transmitting both data and languages, there are several possible variations with regard to the format of the route proposal 30. Deviating from the example selected above, it is also conceivable to carry out speech synthesis in the terminal, which is then more complex in terms of the Manufacturing will, however, can do with shorter data transmission times for the transmission of the route proposal 30 between the central computer 102 and the GSM system 113.

In a further modification of the exemplary embodiment, it is conceivable to replace the speech synthesis in the stationary central computer by an operator who reads out the route proposal calculated by the computer and is also available for special requests to be processed interactively.

The central calculation of the route proposal for many road users allows the procedure for finding a destination to be refined in many ways. Since the central computer works out route suggestions for several road users, it has information regarding the current traffic density, but also regarding the traffic density to be expected. Both can be appropriately incorporated into the calculation of the route proposal. Furthermore, other traffic information can also be used for an optimized route proposal. For example congestion information or information about temporary changes in the road network, such as from a construction site, can be supplied to the central computer via a data line, and manual entry of traffic information on the central computer is also possible.

There are also further development opportunities in the event of non-compliance with route suggestions. Parts of the route proposal 30 that have already been reproduced by the terminal, such as, for example, the instruction in the present example to take the direction 21 at the base 11, can be recalled again from the memory 112 by the road user. The road user can thus reconstruct an unintentional deviation from the route proposal and correct it if necessary. Furthermore, it is possible for the terminal device 110 to automatically initiate the calculation of a new route proposal by the central computer 102 in the event of a deviation from the route proposal 30.

Finally, a further development consists in initiating a recalculation of the route proposal on longer routes at recurring intervals in order to incorporate the latest traffic density information into the route proposal.

Claims (9)

Device for guiding a vehicle with a radio transmitter and receiver and with a satellite-based position determination system in the vehicle, characterized in that means are provided for entering a destination, that the destination can be transmitted together with the location determined via the satellite-based position determination system via the radio transmitter and receiver is that, based on the information sent, a route suggestion to be stored in the device, which contains the coordinates of bases which are on the way, and base instructions which contain additional information about a base, can be received, and that the output of the base instruction can be controlled by the satellite-based position determination system in that reaching a base causes the output of a base instruction which has not yet been issued. Terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that the satellite-based position determination system is a GPS. Terminal according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the radio transmitting and receiving device is a GSM device. Terminal according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the output of the base instruction takes place acoustically and / or optically. Method for guiding a vehicle, characterized in that the current position is detected by a position determination system in the vehicle and is communicated via a radio transmission and reception device together with a destination to a fixed central computer, by means of which the received location information and the destination are communicated with an electronic road map are compared and a cheapest route is determined, this information in the form of a route proposal, which contains the coordinates of the bases to be approached, as well as base instructions, which contain additional information about specific bases, is transmitted to the vehicle via the radio transmitter and receiver that the latter Route suggestion is stored that the coordinates of the vehicle location are continuously determined by the satellite-based position determination system, and that a further base instruction from d em memory is output when the coordinates of the vehicle location match the coordinates of a previously unreached base. Method according to claims 5, characterized in that the sum of all incoming position information and destination requests is processed in a traffic density histogram in the central computer and processed for the creation of the route proposal. Method according to one of claims 5-6, characterized in that traffic information, in particular about traffic jams, construction sites and Traffic hazards can be used to create an optimized route proposal. Method according to one of claims 5-7, characterized in that in the event of deviations from the specified route proposal, the creation of a new route proposal is initiated based on updated position and traffic data. Method according to one of claims 5-8, characterized in that after a predetermined route and / or time the creation of a new route proposal based on updated position and traffic data is initiated.

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